Neighbors, Tributes, and Everything in Between
by PhoenixOrFire
Summary: In the time before the Games, Cato and Clove find themselves a neighbors. How will they feel about eachother? What will happen when the 74th Annual Hunger Games roll around?


**A/N: Hey guys! This is my very first fanfiction that I've posted and my very first Cato/Clove in general! I'm excited! Criticism is welcome and any ideas you have will be taken into account!**

**Thanks **

It was about two seconds after she knocked her attacker out cold that she noticed him. He was taller than she was, with dirty blonde hair that glinted like gold against the sunlight. He was leaning against the side of his house with his arms crossed in front of his chest and an amused expression on his face. When he spotted her looking, he took a step closer.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked with an annoyed expression

"Yeah" he said with a smirk "Who are you and why are you in my yard?"

She looked him up and down with a stony gaze "Clove." She said with a pause "Clove Rollins. My family moved into that house." She said with a gesture behind her to the house next door. "And I believe that we share this portion of the yard."

"Oh really?" They boy asked skeptically "People around here don't move around very often."

"Yes really." Clove snapped "My father is a doctor and they needed him here, so my family moved."

"Great. So apparently we're new neighbors." The boy said with mock enthusiasm

"How about you just tell me your name so my mom will get off my back about meeting people in the neighborhood?" Clove suggested through squinted eyes.

"Cato." The boy said rolling his eyes "You have quite an attitude for such a small girl."

"Do you have a last name by any chance" Clove questioned "And you seem to have quite an attitude yourself… for a boy" she said, her voice riddled with annoyance.

"Bromson." Cato said looking a Clove carefully for the first time. She had long brown hair that curled slightly at the end, just past her shoulders. Her eyes were emerald green and sparkled in the light. Her skin was tanned with light freckles dusted across the bridge of her nose and top of her cheeks.

"Well Cato, I should get inside for dinner." She said turning toward her house

"Wait!" Cato called "What about him?" He gestured toward the unconscious body lying in between them.

"Oh, yeah." Clove said "I guess I should do something about that."

"Why did you knock him out in the first place?" Cato asked curiously

"He ran out of the woods behind my house and started flirting with me. I felt uncomfortable, so I knocked him out." Clove answered

Cato raised an eyebrow.

"It's not like I didn't warn him first." Clove said blushing "When you are thirteen years old and a strange boy comes out of the woods, the natural thing to do is defend yourself."

"Whatever." Cato said "We better wake him up."

Clove woke up on August 21st, took a shower, got dressed, and called goodbye to her mother. It was her first day at the Academy of the North side of the district. The south side of the district, where she was from, wasn't poor, but they weren't rich like the north side, either. She had carefully brushed out her hair and pulled it up into a pony tail and made sure her whole outfit was properly in place. First impressions with the trainers were every important and most of the trainees had a two year head start over her. The Capitol didn't usually allow people to move, but good doctors were hard to come by and this was an emergency situation, so Clove's family got to move.

As she was walking down the street, she spotted Cato a little ways in front of her. She ducked her head down, hoping he wouldn't spot her. She was too nervous to do their usual exchange-insults-until-one-of-them-got-so-angry-that-they-ended-up-almost-killing-eachother bit.

"Well good morning to you to!" Cato said as Clove quickly shoved past

She sighed and turned around. "Good Morning, Cato." She said with an eye roll

"Well gee… Thanks for the sunshine." Cato said sarcastically

"Look, if you're done ruining my morning with your very presence, I've got places to be." Clove said turning to walk away.

"Whatever, Clove." Cato said with a smirk "I've got better places to be than talking to a loser anyway. Do you know what it could do to my reputation?" He asked dramatically. And with that, he sped up and walked past her, leaving Clove staring after him with an annoyed expression.

**A/N: Okay guys, I realize that this chapter was uneventful, but it will get better! Please review this chapter! It will make me feel more comfortable when posting the next chapter! Thanks Wow… I just used the word chapter a LOT!**

**~R. Phoenix**


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